The UFC can promote Alistair Overeem and Nick Diaz for bouts next year “as long as Zuffa makes quite clear that there’s an added piece to that puzzle,” NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

In Overeem’s case, that means getting a license to fight in Nevada. For Diaz, it’s scheduling him after his suspension ends.

The star fighters have been benched for much of 2012 as they wait out respective administrative actions handed down by the NSAC.

UFC President Dana White on Saturday told reporters that the NSAC approved booking Overeem for a bout with Antonio Silva at UFC 156, which takes place Feb. 2 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

“But he’s still got to go before the commission, and it still doesn’t mean the outcome could be good,” White said. “But I think that Alistair has been doing the right thing, as far as the commission is concerned, and doing all the things that he needs to do to get back in their good graces. It’s looking positive and optimistic.”

The executive said the picture with Diaz isn’t as rosy. Asked whether the UFC could promote a bout with Diaz, he said, “Nope.”

Kizer, however, said that the commission doesn’t have an issue with booking Diaz as long as the fight isn’t within the term of his suspension.

“As long as the fight was after the suspension ended, there wouldn’t be a problem with that,” he said. “But obviously a fighter fighting while on suspension somewhere else, I wouldn’t approve the fight.”

Kizer also noted that all 2012 Nevada licensees, including Diaz, will need to reapply in 2013. Because Diaz has twice been suspended for marijuana, he will need to appear before the commission before being licensed in the state.

Overeem’s case is slightly different. Kizer noted that an unlicensed fighter usually can be granted one administratively, as is expected to be the case for a UFC 156 bout between featherweight champ Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. Fighters competing in 2013 can apply for a license beginning on Dec. 1. But since the heavyweight was recently the subject of administrative action, he must appear before the commission before being granted another.

Hence, the added piece to the puzzle.

In April, the NSAC denied Overeem a license to compete in Nevada, citing a pre-fight drug screen that revealed an illegal testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) of 14-to-1. The ruling precluded him from re-applying in Nevada until Dec. 27 and required him to appear before the commission before being granted a license. He was scheduled to fight champ Junior Dos Santos for the heavyweight title at UFC 146 in May.

Overeem told the commission his elevated levels of testosterone were caused by a doctor-administered injection that unknowingly contained the hormone. He later announced he would undergo voluntary drug testing to prove himself a clean fighter.

The NSAC fined and suspended Diaz one year for a second marijuana offense. Diaz failed a post-fight screen following a loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143. Five years earlier, he tested positive for marijuana following a win over Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33, which took place in Las Vegas.

An attempt to drop pending administrative action against Diaz failed. Diaz’s camp is currently seeking to overturn the second suspension, arguing that the marijuana metabolites he was flagged for aren’t illegal.

For more on UFC 156, as well as the rest of the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

The Latest

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?